Buterin: Three solutions to speed up the transaction confirmation time! What is the future of Layer2?

Optimization of Ethereum transaction confirmation time

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed methods to optimize transaction confirmation time, including:

1. Single Slot Finality (SSF)

• Replacement Gasper consensus mechanism determines blocks faster.
• All stakers are required to send two messages every 12 seconds.
• Improving throughput, making finalization faster.

2. Rollup pre-confirmation

• side chain packaging transactions to reduce the main chain load.
• Pre-confirm side chain transactions to shorten main chain transaction confirmation time.
• Improve scalability and support more transactions.

3. Based on pre-confirmation mechanism

• Based on the consensus mechanism, transactions are pre-confirmed on the main chain.
• Similar to Rollup pre-confirmation, but without sidechains.
• Improve transaction confirmation efficiency and reduce the pressure on the main chain.

slot and epoch architecture

• slot: A time period every 12 seconds, usually one block is generated.
• epoch: Composed of 32 slots, once every 6 minutes and 24 seconds, to perform status checks and validator rewards and punishments.
• These structures ensure fast transaction confirmation.

  

  SSF proposal design drawing
  Rollup pre-confirmation & Based pre-confirmation
  In addition, Buterin also discussed the mechanisms of Rollup pre-confirmation and Based pre-confirmation. Ethereum has always followed a Rollup-centered development route, designing L1 to support data availability and other functions, while L2 provides users with larger-scale services. However, this will face an inevitable problem: L2 needs to be confirmed for users. Users are served at speeds faster than 5-20 seconds.
  Plus, it’s unfair to require all L2s to implement a decentralized ordering network, which pretty much requires them to do most of the new L1’s work.
  To solve this problem, Justin Drake launched a shared pre-confirmation mechanism based on Ethereum - Based pre-confirmation, making it accessible to all L2 and L1.
  Based pre-confirmation approach assumes that Ethereum proposers will be highly sophisticated participants for MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) related reasons. Pre-confirmation-based approaches exploit this complexity by incentivizing these experienced proposers to provide pre-confirmation services. The basic idea is to create a standardized protocol through which users can pay a premium in exchange for an immediate guarantee that the transaction will be included in the next block, and possibly a claim on the results of executing the transaction. If a proposer breaks any of their promises to users, they will be slashed.
  In summary, Based preconfirmation provides guarantee for L1 transactions. If Rollup is "Based", then all L2 blocks are L1 transactions, so the same mechanism can be used to provide pre-confirmation for any L2.
  3 Development Directions of L2
  Finally, Buterin proposed three reasonable development strategies for L2:
  1. Both the technical and spiritual levels are based on Ethereum: These L2 are optimized for the technical attributes and value of Ethereum’s base layer (high decentralization , anti-censorship, etc.) delivery channel. Simply put, these rollups can be considered "branded shards" and allow for extensive experimentation with new VM designs and other technical improvements.
  2. Server-based blockchain architecture: These L2s start with servers and then add proof of STARK validity, users’ rights to withdraw or force transactions, and freedom of collective choice (such as coordinating mass withdrawals or changing orderers’ capabilities), while maintaining server efficiency while reaping the benefits of massive on-chain operations.
  3. Compromise: Using a hundred-node fast chain, Ethereum provides additional interoperability and security, which is the actual roadmap for many L2 projects.
  Each of these three strategies has a different slot-and-epoch architecture:
  Ethereum native architecture
  Server pre-confirmation
  Committee pre-confirmation
  The key question Buterin poses is how much can we do in the first category good? If the first category becomes very good, the significance of the third category may diminish. The second category will always exist, because any "Ethereum-based" solution is not suitable for off-chain data L2 such as plasmas and validiums.
  Buterin concluded that we need more options to simplify the work of L2 developers and improve the user experience.

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